Peace Offering Round Two

Initially the man's gaze narrowed and Isa braced herself for another fight. It didn't come, however. Instead, the giant shocked her. A package was placed before her and Sirius told her that it was for her. His indifference between her accepting or rejecting it was a farce, she could tell. He wanted her to accept it. Then he rose and turned away as though he would leave. Isa reached for the package but stopped as Sirius stopped. Dark ears swiveled to catch his words as he spoke again. The man gave her an explanation as to his childish behavior. He'd dreamed of his wife and it was painful. It was something that was so easy for the woman to understand that she could barely believe that he didn't realize it. She had lost her husband just as Sirius had lost his wife. She dreamed of him just as Sirius dreamed of her. She wanted to say as much, but the wolf was already on his way out.

Isa looked at the package for a moment and decided to open it. She removed the thick, plush coat from the oiled skin and shook it out, admiring the craftsmanship that went into it. She noted the gem encrusted clasp. It was a similar shade to her own eyes. It brought a frown to the woman's maw. After their time coming down the mountain, she wanted to hate the man. After this though, she didn't hate him. She didn't like him by a long shot, but she didn't hate him.

After securing the thick fur cape around her shoulders, Isa made her way out of the den and towards the obelisk where the brute in question was waiting. Silently, the woman moved forward and seated herself beside Sirius, the pair of them looking into the fire. She sat quietly for a time, deciding on her choice of words, but eventually she spoke. "The illness that killed my people was some kind of wasting sickness. No one could keep down food or water and everyone slowly became thinner and weaker." As she stared into the fire, she relived it all again in her minds eye. "Of my family, my children were the first to die. Three young pups, barely weaned. My parents went after that." It was difficult to talk about her deceased family, but she did so in the hopes that it would help the man beside her. He didn't need to feel so alone because she had lived through it too.

"My husband," she began, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat. "He went last and he tried so hard to be positive about the whole ordeal. He would say things like, 'The children aren't alone. Your parents are with them and I'll be with them soon.' Or he'd say, 'At least it doesn't hurt.' He was always trying to make me feel better, even at the end. Then he died too and I never felt so alone in my entire life. I thought that I would die. There was nothing left to live for." She had contemplated suicide. No one would miss her because everyone that cared was underground. In the end, she hadn't followed through. Her time would come when it would come. She simply had to wait.

"And then it stormed." She had already told him about the rarity of storms in her homeland. "It stormed hard and as the rain parted, I saw a ship. I boarded that ship and another and another. Each path led me here. It led me to this moment." Isa cast the brute a side-eye just to see if he was even paying attention. "I could have left at any point, Sirius. I could have lost your tailing bird with ease and been gone, but the truth is, I have nowhere else to go. I have nothing. I am alone." A deep breath was taken and Isa let it out long and slow. "So I forgive you because I understand that pain." With her piece spoken, Isa rose and turned, ready to go back to her den so that the man could be on his own again. "Thank you for the gift," she spoke softly, then began to slowly pad away from him.

"Isa"